Referring to his brother, Mr Javid added: "He's been hurt more times than I want to know from being assaulted on duty.

"I've seen the impact the job has on family life. And, as you would expect from a brother, he doesn't shield me from the truth."

Speaking before Mr Javid, Police Federation chairman Calum Macleod called for the government's support and asked it to "agree that [emergency workers] are not society's punch bags for those fuelled by drink and drugs, or trying to evade arrest".